OPPOSITION parties welcomed yesterday’s announcement of cuts in electricity prices, but claimed the sector remained over-regulated.
Fine Gael’s energy spokesman Simon Coveney said the price reductions had been very slow in coming as fuel prices on global markets had fallen to very low levels months ago.
“Customers are still paying too much. Last time we had an energy review was just before Christmas. They got it wrong. Energy prices in Ireland are still far too high, he said. Labour’s spokeswoman on energy Liz McManus echoed Mr Coveney’s comments and described the market as over-regulated.
“There’s no need for the over-regulation that we have that’s very slow and sluggish in responding to needs and prices. In the meantime householders pay too much. What we want is a ceiling price for the ESB rather than a fixed price. The system has to be reformed. I do not know if this Minister is up to the job,” she said.
Rejecting the criticism, Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan said the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) had carried out a review of energy prices over the past month after he asked them to speed up the process of reducing prices.
He said the energy regulator had now presented him with a range of options that allow the reduction of prices.
All electricity customers will see their bills reduced by an average of 10 per cent from the end of April, said the Minister. He said that the 12 per cent reduction in gas prices would apply to domestic customers as well as to small and medium enterprises.
“It is a positive news story for the country at a time when money is tight. It will help our competitiveness, help jobs in this country, help householders who are on a tight budget,” said Mr Ryan.
The reduction in price has been made possible by reductions worth €165 million in ESB network charges to all customers, an effective subsidising of the reduced prices. Network charges will revert to higher levels in October, but will be offset by lower fuel prices.
The net effect is that lower prices have been pushed forward several months. Unlike its competitors, the ESB is not allowed to reduce its prices beneath the level set by the energy regulator.
A spokesperson for the ESB said it had been working with the department and the regulator for the past number of weeks.
